Prelude: the fall of an empire.
Can’t you see, Celestia? How could you not? You have never defeated me. I should be the one sitting on the throne, not you. But don’t you worry, I’ve had plenty of time to make plans, And they are inevitable. Now step aside. your time has come, sweet sister of mine.
Little Lex Quickhoof woke up from a strange sound. It was some sort of rumbling. He listened to it for a while, and he felt like it was coming closer. The rumbling turned louder and louder, into the thundering sound of thousands of hooves and screams. Lex let himself glide off his bed, and he walked to the window. He opened the curtain, and although it was pitch black outside, he could see a red glow coming from the right. It became brighter and brighter. Lex heard a sound coming from the living room downstairs. It was his dad, and Lex heard him racing up the stairs. With a smack he opened the door.
“Lex!” he said. “We have to go, now!” Lex was confused, but he understood something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
“What’s going on dad?” Lex asked. Lex followed his dad downstairs.
“We’re under attack!” His dad answered. Lex froze. The Crystal Empire? Under attack? Lex’s dad stormed into the living room, looking around desperately. He found a quill, a piece of paper and he started writing. The sound of violence became unbearably loud, and Lex started to smell fire. So that was the glowing I saw from my window. It is fire! The city is on fire! Lex thought.
Lex’s dad put the piece of paper in a bag, and he gave it to Lex. “Listen, son. You have one of the quickest hooves in the Crystal Empire. Take this letter to Canterlot, and give it to princess Celestia and princess Luna. I wish I could do it myself, but I have to defend the city. Follow the river to the south. Don’t get seen by anypony, rest as less as possible, and stay alert.” Lex was speechless. What was going on? Why did he have to bring a letter to Celestia and Luna? Wouldn’t it be better if he’d stay here and fight, with his dad?
“Dad, why am I…” Lex’s dad interrupted him.
“No questions now, your mother and I will be alright.” He kissed Lex’s forehead. “I love you, son. Take the back door, and don’t look back! We will pick you up in Canterlot.” Lex nodded. There was fear in his fathers eyes, and that scared Lex.
As soon as Lex opened the door, he was in the middle of complete chaos. Dead ponies lying on the ground, buildings were collapsed and on fire. Ponies were running for their lives, while being followed by strange trails of black smoke. Royal guards were desperately trying to use their magic against these trails of smoke, but they were unsuccessful. Lex ran through the streets, dodging beams of magic and corpses left and right. Upon approaching the crystal castle, he saw princess Cadance and prince Shining Armor standing on the balcony. They were both firing beams of powerful magic to the trails of smoke, and they seemed to be the only ones able to hit them. Lex halted to watch, but suddenly they stopped. Their horns started to glow, and a bright flash followed. Lex was blinded for a second, and when he was able to see again, princess Cadance and prince Shining Armor were gone.
Not knowing what he had seen, Lex started to run again. He ran faster than he had ever run before. He ran underneath the crystal castle, passing the crystal heart.
All of the sudden, the ground disappeared under his feet. He looked around, and he could see a trail of smoke had caught him. Lex tried to escape, but somehow he couldn’t move. It was like the touch of the mysterious smoke froze his heart. He flew higher and higher, and then suddenly, the smoke trail dissolved. Lex fell to the ground, but at the last moment, the smoke trail took shape caught him. Lex thought he got saved, but the smoke trail vanished again. Lex fell thirty feet, before smacking into the ground.
Lex saw black, but he forced himself to stand up. Although everything hurt, Lex started running again. Behind him, the crystal heart exploded into a thousand pieces. One razor sharp part flew towards Lex, and made a nasty cut on his flank. It started to bleed intensely, and Lex’s eyes filled with tears. His entire body hurt, and the cut in his flank burned. Still, he forced himself to keep going.
Lex left the city without being noticed. When he got on top of a hill, he turned around and he could see the entire city. One half of it was burning, the other was completely destroyed. Lex let his tears go, as he saw how his entire live was being destroyed before his eyes. Where were his parents? Were they dead? What was even happening in the first place? he knew the princesses had to be informed, so he started running again. After half an hour, he found the river, and he started following it.
The shape of Canterlot drew off black against the red sunrise. Lex was tired. There was a gaping wound in his flank, and he was hungry. When he arrived In Canterlot, he immediately got noticed by a guard.
“What happened to you, little guy? You need to get to a hospital! Follow me!” he said nicely.
“N, no!” Lex gasped. “Mu, must see the princess! important message from the Crystal Empire!” the guard’s face tensed, and he led Lex to Canterlot castle, into the throne hall. Once there, he stumbled to princess Celestia, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
“P, princess! I have a letter from the captain of the Crystal Guard! The Crystal Empire has been att…” Lex couldn’t finish his sentence. He lost too much blood, and he had ran too far and too long. At least I made it, he thought. I wonder how proud dad would be. With that satisfying thought, he took his last breath. Little Lex Quickhoof was no more.
